I remember when Benetint blipped on my radar: I was going through an all-lipstick, all-the-time phase, and the constant reapplying was wrecking my head. I didn’t give a toss about touching up in public, but the constant vigilance was wearing. My pal Julie was my Lipcote mule {was still in NYC and did not have direct access to that magical, magical potion} but I wanted even more staying power. A lipstain like Benetint sounded like it would fill the bill to overflowing.

Except that I maybe have an excessively sensitive gob? Because the brushing-it-on part drove me crayzee: nails on the chalkboard time, awful, awful! Dabbing some on my finger didn’t really help, and I was so annoyed at the waste that I didn’t bother using it as a blusher. Cutting off my nose to spite my face, as usual.

So it was with mixed feelings that I received an abundance of lip and cheek kits from the San Fran brand…

I liked the look of Sugarlicious the best. Its sister kits, Feelin’ Dandy and Go Tropi Coral, have much to recommend them, but this one suits my skin colour.

Hmm, should not quit my day job, as my skillz as a photog are wanting. That thing that has its back to the camera is High Beam, which is a highlighter that I tend not to use sparingly, so I don’t use it at all. I end up looking like, I don’t know, something out of Brazil. Too bad, and if there is High Beam rehab, I will check myself in: it gives the face a lovely lift.

One also receives Sugarbomb blush and the matching lipgloss. So clever!

I find the blush to be only okay, and the gloss to be great. But the big revelation was the use of the Benetint on the cheeks.

I love it. I feel like a Victorian Valentine. I feel like I’ve been retouched.

I’ve consulted the handy Tips and Tricks as regards the High Beam, but the problem is that I don’t feel that I am highlighted ENOUGH. User error, as ever.

I also tried the Benetint-as-lipstain, just to make sure that I was still — yup. Eeeeeeeeek! Ticklish!

***

€35/£24.50/$28